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Can you believe it?! I’m all caught up on this challenge! Who’d a thunk that while amidst the planning of finals and and completing projects that this would be the time I caught up, but here I am. And I couldn’t be happier to be caught up with a different theme or photo.

Rebirth. It can mean so many different things in so many different contexts. It’s a word that has had a particular significance to me over the past two years, so I’m always happy to do some work surrounding this theme. And even better, it coincided with a project that I was competing for class. You know I love it when I can hit two birds with one stone!

The project that we had for class surrounded the idea of “constructed reality”, or tableau photography — creating a scene, world, scenario which does not occur naturally, but in a strange way, could possibly happen. Playing with the border between truth and fiction. That’s the best explanation I can give for this, because honestly, I had a terrible time thinking of something to do for this project. The examples my professor gave the class were vast, which was equally helpful and harmful. Just as I thought I was getting a grasp on what he was asking for, a whole other group of artists would come up which were completely different, and I would be thrown off again. Don’t get me wrong, I always appreciate the broad overview of example artists he shows us — they have amazing work. Some of my favorites, which you should go check out, were Duane Michaels, David Hockney, and (this one’s a little creepy) Joel-Peter Witkin. Three very different styles, three very different conceptual minds, and three equally awesome artists. So, in wanting to emulate all of them, and not sure how one single idea could encompass that and the parameters of the assignment, I was stuck.

The night before I had to bring in “progress”, I still had nothing. All day during my classes I was trying to think of something to do for the next day. I had a bunch of ideas, but nothing feasible this short notice. Ah, the blight of wanting models in my photographs. So I dug a little deeper, and this idea came to me, finally. It was actually something that I had thought of during one of my film photography classes, but for some reason, filed it away in my “will probably never happen” group of photography ideas. I’m really glad I decided to drudge it up and give it a try.

This whole idea started when I first returned back to school, and was debating leaving my old job and finding something that would actually make me happy. I wish I could say it was at one of my hardest times, and that things got better from there, but I’m just now starting the incline again. Even then, however, I would dream about how great life could be, and what it would feel like to let all the stress and drama of my then current life behind. Flowers and nature have always seemed like a great avenue for me to express a lot of complex ideas, and this project made good use of that. In correlation with this feeling of wanting a new life, and now revisiting it from a perspective of “rebirth”, along with having gone through some major changes, I wanted to be able to express both the pain and beauty in changes simultaneously.

Although it may be a little unsettling to look at, I really am in love with the result I achieved. I needed something visceral, raw, an essentially disgusting, to really describe how difficult things have been. On the other hand, I was dreaming of a new, beautiful life, and since then, have made large strides to work towards it, and wanted an element which would exemplify that sentiment as well. I chose to place the wound (which was incredibly, surprisingly, easy to make) on my wrist. I think location is meaningful in itself, as many associate this type of wound with self-harm, and in a sense, living the life I was living was doing exactly that, killing me. The flower that I chose, Star of Bethlehem, though possessing religious connotations which I didn’t not directly relate to this project, represents all of the things that I imagine this new life, or rebirth, will bring. Hope, for a better life. Forgiveness, to myself for not doing this sooner. Honesty, to stay true to myself. Innocence and Purity, for all the good, new things, untainted by my previous life.

I love it, and I’m even more excited to keep working on this type of imagery. I’ll be extending this work for my final, so maybe you’ll see a little more of this soon, ya know, if this doesn’t gross you out too much 😉

I love it when people have just the right things to say. I also like it when something gets me right in the feels, for lack of a better word, and catches me off guard when they do. I got that from one of my professors the other day, so I’d thought I’d share a little more about it with you.

It’s been a crazy few weeks since starting school, as I’m sure you’re well aware by my constant reminders. But even with all the craziness, it’s been filled with some pretty great moments. First off, everyone thinks that I’m 21…max! I’m even being mistaken for a teenager, which makes me question some things, but I’ll still take it as a great compliment. I’m finally starting to feel a little more comfortable, and that I may be someone who is on-par with this “art world” that I’ve flung myself in to. Yes, I know I made it in to MICA, and that should be reassurance enough, but it isn’t. “They”, the powers that be at MICA, even send out emails, or did at least, to new students telling them just that — “don’t be scarred/intimidated/depressed/stressed/etc…you made it here, and that means a lot!” When coming from the world of strict business attire,where the only creativity being expressed was that of craftily written procedure or performance review, it’s hard to see yourself amounting to anything creative. No matter how bad I want to succeed at this, I’m essentially terrified.

When I think about where I came from, the life of banking, management, stress, abuse, and all things wrong in a corporate environment, I have two feelings that have stuck around: abandonment, and escape. Pretty conflicting thoughts, don’t you think? As if my feelings towards them weren’t complicated enough, they still continue to be, even almost a year and a half leaving. I suppose some of the emotions you could equate to this would be depression, anxiety, PTSD, failure,….freedom and relief? Like I said, it’s complicated. I whole heartedly gave over 10 years of my life to this company, only to be targeted, bullied, and attacked. And when I fell ill as a result of this, they didn’t care at all, and wanted nothing more to do with me. Don’t get it twisted though, no matter how it may sound, I played the hand I was dealt the best I could, and ended up resigning. Some what reluctantly, but still, it was my choice to leave — at least they didn’t get that satisfaction. Either way, it was a heartbreaking change, even though at the same time I wanted to do something different with my life. I wanted to make it better, but I was terrified of failing.

But like I said, you have to play the cards you’re dealt, and my game had just changed. So I decided, why not, apply for this school that I’ve been wanting to go to forever. I was just about to finish up my associates degree, because I could only handle baby steps, and didn’t see myself making it this far. Going to school, an art school, to get a Bachelor’s degree seemed unobtainable for me. After getting in, it was then the financial aspects that had me burdened, because let’s face it, you can’t pay for the “ivy league of art schools” on a non-existent salary. No one was excited about the news except a few, literally few, friends, so in trying to be realistic about it, I didn’t let myself get excited about it, or celebrate. I’m 30, and just got my first college acceptance letter in the mail, I should be excited. Oh, wait, except for the fact that I’ll be 30….in college…with teenagers — another issue of concern. I convinced myself I was too old, and just needed to buckle down and get a “real job”. Oh, and back to the no job thing, I had to move out of my apartment, my safe haven, my home….my life was falling apart when it should have been on the up and up.

So I decided not to go, and things got dark, really dark, and fast. I started looking for banking jobs, admin jobs, anything office job like, and to no avail. What was the end of an already incredibly depressed year, I was even worse for the wear. Then a friend hired me to bake a cake and photograph her wedding, and another friend asked me to photograph her baby, and it felt great doing things that were artistic, and that I got paid for! Imagine that. I figured, as the deadline for the deposit was fast approaching, I’ll just take this money to pay for the deposit. As irresponsible as it may be, and even though it’s most likely only delaying the inevitable, I’ll have a little more time to pretend that this is still an option.

In the mean while, I still looked for “normal” jobs, but also worked on art, this blog (yay), craft fairs, and school stuff — scheduling, talking to advisors, financial aid, and so on. I had it all figured out, except how to pay for just a little bit of it. So annoying. With all the work I did, this little percentage of tuition that I couldn’t come up with was going to hold me back. I begged family to help, co-sign, anything, but they resisted, insisting that I needed to get off this vacation mode and get my life back together. I have to say, my family has an interesting perspective of what vacation is if my life was the model for it. Then, out of the blue, my parents, though they were very clear that they disapproved of my idea/plan/decisions/everything, that they wanted me to be happy. What? Seriously? I was dumbfounded, but took their help as quickly as possible. Though I have to hear about it all the time now, I’m thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to give this a go, even if the future of it seems uncertain.

So then I’m finally there! Orientation. Oh my God….can I say that it was exponentially worse than I expected? The school and facilities seemed nice, but the people — some of the other students are down right…..just, immature, and not good people, and incredibly filled with entitlement, and unappreciative. It’s a little astounding, and overwhelming. I felt like crying, and leaving, and never coming back, but I knew I couldn’t let these people, who really didn’t do anything to me except make my age difference become even more apparent, control what was going to be my outcome of going here. So I did what I knew I would do, what I always do. I worked.

It felt great to finally have something consume my life again. While it was nice being away from work, it was pretty boring at times, even with all my little projects that I tried to fill my time with. Not only that, but I actually started working again, and not at some terrible place that was irrelevant to what my goals were. I’m busy again, and it’s a great feeling. I’m successful in this busyness, which is even a better feeling.

Even though the feedback from some of these professors has been minimal, I have enough information to come to the conclusion that I have an A in each of my six, count ’em, six classes. I would say yay, but I worked my ass off, and there is no yay for me when it comes to grades. I either get all A’s and am contempt with it because it’s the only acceptable outcome, or I flirt with the line between A and B, and I’m really mad about it. It’s about half way through the semester now, and I’ve received a couple of mid-term reviews, and hope to have a couple more. They’ve been informal, and though email, so it’s nice to have the feed back, because not having it drives me crazy, but it’s also a little impersonal. Lucky for me, I have one professor, my sculpture professor, who is very profession, and a great communicator. He set up mid-term review meetings with each of us, and actually sat us down to talk about our progress, grades, and future expectations. Now that gets a yay 🙂

So in that meeting, I heard some great things — I have an A+, something that he only gives out like once or twice a year. How unexpected. What else was unexpected was that he told me that I took to sculpture like “a fish to water”. I have to say, out of all the classes I signed up for this semester, this was the one I was most apprehensive about. I never work three-dimensionally, so this was all new for me, and in having such high expectations for my self and my grades, this was going to be a challenge. We chatted a little more, and he got the point of saying that he could tell that I was very dedicated. Of course — do you have any idea of what I had to go through to get here?! Of course not, I’m being irrational, and joking. I did say, however, that yes, I’m incredibly dedicated to being here. I went through hell with the life that I had before, and I’m never going back to that world. And then he said it…”Well, welcome to this one”. He went on to say, many more positive things, what expectations he had for me, and that he saw me doing great things, but that little sentence stuck out to me even more than that. I know that with the grades I’m getting in the school that I’m now attending that I should have more confidence in my work. It’s amazing to hear that he views me as an A+ student, a natural at this art, and that he, and incredibly successful artist in his own right, sees me being successful as well. But that welcome, as silly as it may seem, hit me hard. I’m here, I’m still in one piece, and I’m doing the thing that I’ve always wanted to do. I’m doing the thing that I pushed out of my mind for the last 15 years of my life. I’m doing something that will change my life. It’s hard to believe, but I am. I’m doing it. It’s crazy. Crazy good. I don’t ever have to go back to that life now, not if I don’t want to.

At the end of all my rambling, I’ve included some photos of things that I’ve been working on for various classes – sculpture, digital photo, studio lighting, and EMAC, which is like a sampling of all this electronic and digital in the art making world. I didn’t include anything from my art history classes, cause I figured you probably wouldn’t appreciate having papers shoved in your face to read. And it’s ok if you think some of these are a little wacky, cause to be honest, I do too, but I like them 🙂 And what I like even more, is that this is just the beginning of a change so grand that I can’t even imaging how great things will be when I finish. I imagine a very tear-filled graduation on my part, but only happy tears. So thanks for the welcome, and just so you know, there will never be a goodbye.

Quite an open theme I had on my hands this week — half & half. With my coffee? No, thanks, I’m talking something a little bit different. What I automatically think of is a divide, more like an opposite type of project, but that wasn’t quite checking the “half & half” box in my mind. So I went out in search of things that could fit the bill, and just so happen to find them in my back yard.

Summer is starting to fade…

It was literally just a few days ago that I was talking about a hot summer day, but with the slight change of the weather, and the fact that I was at the beach more like two weeks ago, things have started to take a turn for the worse already. It’s also Labor Day weekend — the official end of summer. While I haven’t received the notice, and have still been enjoying some hot, sunny days, other elements of nature apparently have. I’m going to hold on to this nice weather for as long as I can, and will try to ignore the things changing around me.

It does prove for an interesting time of year, as well as some unique garden aesthetics. While some things are in bloom, others have completely died. Even within the same plant — parts are trying to grow, while others are giving up and conceding to the slowly cooling weather.

I’m enjoying both the literal and figurative expression of this theme. Literally speaking, these plants are half dead, half living. Plain and simple; a great example of a single object being split in to something which would be considered “half & half”. Figuratively speaking, I see these as examples of life and death; new beginnings, closure for old issues.

I’m sure you all know by now that this has been a pretty interesting year for me, full of many changes and new beginnings of my own. I’m sure you also know I like to work with opposites, and thoughts of life and death are often projected into my work. Though I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted for this week, I did go out with a small intention to locate something along these lines. Over the past few days I’ve started a new job, completed my first week at MICA, and have scheduled to begin my second new job in a few days. It’s been overwhelming; I’ve been nervous, unsure, self-doubting, uncomfortable, and just plain scarred. It’s also been the best week that I’ve had in a long time (except for vacation — the beach wins, hands-down, no matter what is going on in my life!). I’ve also been happy. Really, truly, eyes watering up, feeling excited, butterflies in my stomach, chills, engaged, inspired, motivated, happy.

For the first time in a long time I feel as if I’m within a group of like-minded individuals, and that I have contributed something of meaning. I’ve also been able to let go of a lot of old ghosts haunting me by taking these steps in moving on. It’s truly hard to grasp when I catch myself in the middle of it, but I’m at the begging of a journey that I have been wanting to take for as long as I can remember; a journey which I never though I would embark on. Though I was unhappy, I fought for a very long time to hold on to the life I used to have. I was afraid of change, and terrified of failure, both of which kept me in an unhealthy yet comfortable position. I’ve made some extreme changes, and have taken some chances that even shocked me at times.

So while you may be viewing these pictures as I initially had, as images of the summer beginning to fade, remember that for the blooms to return next year, they have to start over, and let got of the seasons before. In this case, life will come from death, and things that are half living now will be in full bloom again in a short while. Letting go of old things will allow for new opportunities. My life, which was being half-lived, will be in full bloom before I know it, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.

Teehee — couldn’t help myself! 🙂 It is, after all, the perfect quote for this post, regardless of its cheesy reference!

Yes! I finally got my hourglass, which was the mystery prop I mentioned for the week 28 theme of “sunrise/sunset”. Thanks to that, I’ve also finally caught up on one of my missed weeks! I was so excited to take the hourglass along with me on our family vacation to the beach, even if everyone thought I was nuts for it. I’m used to the joking and teasing, it’s all in fun. Do you want to know a great benefit of tolerating the crazy looks and having my family along while I’m taking photos? Available models, regardless of willingness! Yep — they might poke fun, but I lure them into my ideas. They’re always such good sports about it, particularly my grandmother. It’s always a good time taking photos of her; she doesn’t get the point of anything that I’m doing, and is constantly giggling and rolling her eyes. Even so, she’s a great listener, and very patient with my constant repositioning of her poses.

While considering different approaches for the sunrise/sunset theme, she definitely came to mind. Though I wanted to capture and actual sunrise and sunset in my images, I wanted them to be more representational of a greater beginning and end than that of a day. Thinking of a new day brings to mind clichés such as “ever day is a new start!”, and things of that nature, with the night echoing similar ideas of endings and letting things go. On a greater scale, I think of the dawn rising representing a great new beginning, like that of a new life, a birth. The sun setting is representative of the sun setting on a life, a final day.

So while it makes me somber to thing of my grandmother in this context, I’m grateful that she was willing to help with this concept. Doesn’t help that this time my family caught on to what I was doing, and teased us about how I had to get my poor old grandmother to hold the hourglass because she’s “running out of time”. Again, all in jest, but they were kind of right.

My original idea was to creat a diptych of a sunrise and sunset, with the hourglass in both images, and different models holding it. A set of younger hands holding the hourglass with the sand at the top, representing a new life with an abundance of time, and a set of older hand holding the hourglass with the sand at the bottom, representing a life which is nearing its end. However, since there are no little ones in the family, and the idea of me approaching a family with a small child on the beach at sunrise is more than creepy, my plan was slightly foiled. Instead, I took multiple photographs; some of just the hourglass in both situations, and others with my grandmother at sunset.

I have to say, I’m happy with both types of images. While I previously thought that the images with just the hourglass would be lacking in substance, I think they’re able to hold their own. Another part of the original concept was to photograph the sun through the hourglass at both times of day, and I’m loving that effect. Not only does it bring more interest to the glass itself, but it’s almost as if the sun is the sand pouring through the hourglass in some of the images; as if the days truly are the grains of sand in our lives.

It’s always fun spending time with my grandmother, and it was nice to hear her say that she enjoyed the sunset. Surprisingly, she also said she had never seen the sunset on the bay before, or at least at my secret little bay beach spot, so I’m glad she had fun as well. So, thank you, Lela, for always helping me with my crazy little projects, and being patient with me. I pray that you have many more grains of sand in your hourglass.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already made it this far through the year, and that I’m already past the half way point of this 52 week challenge. I still have a couple to do from past weeks which I haven’t forgotten about, but for now, I’m just happy to be catching up on the few weeks I’ve recently messed up on!

Independence is the topic for this week. It’s an interesting topic, and can have different meanings to different people. With the 4th of July just this past weekend, I’m sure the idea of independence comes to mind with a much more patriotic meaning for a large amount of people. For me, however, independence has always brought a different feeling to mind.

I’ve always liked being on my own, being able to be myself, and not having to answer to anyone. I moved out when I was just 18, and haven’t really looked back. Though over the years this has been limited, I’ve tried to express myself the best I could while still abiding to the confines of the corporate world, and trying to be what many perceive as “a responsible adult”. I know you all have heard me talk about how crazy things have been lately, and I suppose I should break it down to you, as it really all comes down to one thing; my independence has been cut off. Yes, it’s true, I suppose the pay check of my (terrible) job was one, if not it’s only, perk, because now I’m out of resources and options. I’ve moved back in with family, and don’t really see the option to pursue my educational and artistic dreams. I’ve been accepted to MICA, a school I’ve always dreamed of going to, and have received 90% of the tuition in scholarships, grants, and loans, but am being suffocated by the fact that I cannot come up with the other 10%. And the icing on the cake — I can’t find a job to save my life! Everyone looks at me like I have three heads when I tell them I left my tenured management position in banking to pursue an art degree, and am willing to take a considerable pay cut to work at their company. I know, stay positive. I know, everything will happen the way it’s supposed to. But it’s been pretty difficult to stay positive when I start thinking that the “way things are supposed to be” may end up being the exact opposite of how I’ve always wished they would be.

Yes, I know I’m lucky, as many have told me, to have family that will help me while I’m in need, but at the same time, this help comes with a lot of hurt. I know my family loves me, I love them too, but we have an interesting relationship, much of which revolves around them not understanding me and wanting me to change. Ah, yes, the sounds of teenage angst coming back — “parents just don’t understand!”. It sounds silly, I know, but that’s always been our relationship (and you can throw my brother, aunt and grandmother in there, too), and it saddens me to see just how unwilling they are to see things from a different perspective. Over the years I’ve been through quite a bit, professionally and personally, but one thing that I’m glad I’ve learned is how to see things from another perspective, and to gain information about situations before making a judgement. They’re quite the opposite. How I should be, feel, think, and grow in this world is made up in their minds, and that is where we will always clash. My deviation from what they expect is what angers them, and my desires to do things which seem illogical to them, because it is the only way for me, is where they find me irresponsible and immature. Independence. It’s really an interesting word. In a world, like mine, where family so strongly influences what you do, it can be a difficult thing to achieve, particularly when you need their support for things they find foolish. They’re practically begging me to give up going to MICA, find a regular job, and just be happy doing art as a hobby. I’m out of ways to tell them that going back to that life would most likely kill me… Gasping for air to get out of the dark waters which were that life took so much energy, effort, and bravery that I didn’t think I had, I don’t know if I could do it again.

When I was in my very first class, on the very first night, of my very first semester in returning to school, we were instructed by my photography teacher to fill out a little card with our information on it. Half information about who we were, and half one of those typical introduce yourself to the group type exercises. One of the questions was to select which animal best describes you, and why. Most people have something fierce, like a lion, or a hawk, showing their bravery, strength, and confidence. Questions like this always throw me for a loop, so I had to spend most of my time thinking of how to select an appropriate animal. I know, it’s a silly introduction, who cares? But I always put too much thought in to these things…maybe because I remember situations like this three years later. Anyways, after much deliberation, I came up with what I still think is the most accurate animal to describe me, and why. A bird. At that time, I was nearing the worst part of my professional career, and my head was filled with ideas of a great escape, and how grand life would be in just a few short years. So when I selected the bird as my “spirit animal” so to say, there was really only one reason that I could think of as to why it was so fitting for my personality. I could fly. I would have the ability to be free, and escape to a new place any time I wanted to. Independence. No more confinement, no more restriction. I was trapped in a world where I dreaded waking up in the morning, and I wanted nothing more than to escape. I didn’t know it then, but going to school and incorporating that artistic outlet in my life at that time would be what really saved me, and helped me keep what little sanity I had at the end of it all.

Waking up nearly three years later and seeing how things have changed, I’m glad that I took the chances that I did, and have started down the path I have. I’m also terrified that it was all in vain and that it’s steadily coming to an end. I have people watching my every move and judging my every decision in ways that I haven’t experienced in over a decade, and to be honest, it’s a little terrifying.

This past weekend, though it may have been Independence day, was more like anti-independence day to me. I had my move on Friday of last week, and had to say goodbye to my life of freedom. I suppose the only small glimmer in that was that it was the holiday weekend, and I got to have a mini escape to the beach. There truly is nothing better than being there, to me. I could go there penniless, and would still have an immeasurable amount of happiness, serenity, and relaxation. It really couldn’t have come at a better time. So while I was there, I stopped to take a few pictures of my favorite places, as well as made time to visit places that I’ve always wanted to shoot, but never made the time for. Of course, there were my birds, flying free in the ocean air. Admiring them over a landscape which seems endless it really something I find hard to describe. It’s cathartic — I could just stay out there forever, watching them, and whatever else may come by. Even though I may not be “free” anymore, being in an environment like that really sets my mind free. When it’s normally racing with thoughts of what I could have done differently, what people are going to think about me, what I should and should not be doing, there’s quiet. When I look out in to the vast openness of the ocean, it’s like anything is possible, and anything could be just around the horizon. It’s the only place where there is freedom from the confines of my mind, while watching nature, feeling the sand between my toes, and admiring my spirit animal, in its many different forms.

Well, we may have been missing out on an abundance of April showers, but we’re getting a sneak preview of what the May flowers are going to be! Thankfully, it appears that winter has taken its last bitter breath, and we are finally in the midst of spring. A new season, a new beginning, and a fresh start for lots of little flowers, plants, and creatures. Oh yes…creatures. Luckily, the only “creatures” I encountered this week were the pleasant ones; tons of chirping birds, my normal encounters with my roommates (aka – the ladybug infestation), and tons of little bees buzzing around as I was out and about today. I’m glad I decided to keep it simple this week. We had great weather, and it was nice enjoying the outdoors and taking some photos of the flowers and budding blossoms. Though I didn’t get to explore much of the outdoors, snapping these flower photos inspired me to (hopefully) get out to the cherry blossoms which are in “peak bloom” in D.C. Seems like even though I’m so close by, I’m always missing them. I might have to make the effort and get out there this week, particularly since the business task for this week is a “personal shoot”, meaning to basically just shoot whatever you want, and I’ve been wanting to do this for years! Enjoy the pics, and perhaps this won’t be the last you’re seeing of the spring blossoms:)

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.

You never know where you’re going to hear something that really strikes you. I surely wasn’t expecting the technician out on a maintenance call at my old job to say something that would stick with me. We were in a room about the size of a closet, silent, as he was busy working on an ATM…..a pretty common, and expectedly awkward, setting in my day-to-day.

It was just a matter of time before he struck up the normal conversation: How are you? Busy today? These things always act up….and so on. Eventually we got to talking about other things we were working on, and I shared that I had recently enrolled in school to pursue a photography degree (it’s an generalized art degree, I’ll be real with ya, but I like to say photography degree because, well, that’s what I want it to be….eventually!).

This seemed to catch his interest, and as he asked me about it, I started with my normal laundry lists of doubts. I don’t know what will really come of this. I’ve always really loved photography, but have been afraid to share my art. What kind of job, really, am I going to get with this degree? My family is going to think I’m crazy. He got where I was coming from, but still pressed on, asking what I liked to shoot. I told him mostly the beach — I love the beach — but also some more abstract things, abandoned buildings and places.

And then he said it. “So, you’re going to change your vacation to your vocation!” It’s a silly thing really, but I guess it was the first time that I thought that I might, just possibly, be able to do something for a living that I would consider a vacation. After all, I had invested the last (at that time) eight years of my life in this banking career which I was beginning to realize wasn’t taking me anywhere, and more importantly, wasn’t making me happy.

So, here I am. Not at that bank anymore, after over 10 years, entering in to my last semester to get my associates degree, and starting over. This last year has been a struggle, to say the least, but I’m determined to make something better for myself.